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An Asset‐Based Approach to Advancing Latina Students in STEM; Increasing Resilience, Participation, and Success ‐ INVITED TALK
Author(s) -
Gonzalez Elsa
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2021.35.s1.04522
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , psychological resilience , wright , asset (computer security) , psychology , political science , mathematics education , social psychology , engineering , computer science , geography , computer security , archaeology , systems engineering
Latinas are the fastest growing minority females in the country, (Ong, Wright, Espinosa, & Orfield, 2011) yet their representation is decreasing in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, specifically in computer science, mathematics, physics, and engineering (National Science Foundation, 2016). “The gender gap is particularly pronounced in Engineering and computer science, where four out of every five graduates last year were men” (Bestcolleges,com, 2016). There is a need to understand why this is occurring and how we can support Latinas to complete their college degrees. Research shows that most Latina youth are likely to attend a high school that is low‐income, segregated, and under‐resourced in terms of instruction (Darling Hammond, 2000; 2003; Nieto, 2004). As a result, they often arrive at college with less STEM preparation than their white majority peers. However, many Latinas have persisted despite these challenges to successfully earn degrees and pursue careers in STEM. A priority exists for Latina students to succeed in STEM fields, and resilience can ensure a successful outcome (Gonzalez, Contreras Aguirre, & Myers, 2020). Having community, family, and institutional support are foundational for Latina students to complete their STEM degrees. Moreover, persistence in STEM fields increased by 14.87% when students join an organization. Working together in a social context as part of a collaboration is a strong motivating factor for women (Grasgreen, 2013). There is a strong connection between Latina students and the work they do. A sense of belonging in college has been determined to be an important factor in student persistence and success during and after college; a sense of belonging can promote access to more student resources/services and mental health (Gopalan & Brady, 2020); however, Latina students need to be aware of their resilience and the positive effect that it can have. Financial burdens are yet another barrier that Latina students can face because of low socioeconomic status, which negatively impacts both success and completion of a degree in the STEM fields (Rendón et al., 2014). Even through adversity, this work demonstrates that Latina students can enhance their success by cultivating resilience through family, peers, mentors, faculty, and identity development (Gonzalez, Fernandez, Wilson, 2020). The Latina/o resilience model (Gonzalez, 2020) introduces the resilience element that individuals use in challenging contexts, such STEM fields, not only as students but also as they move through their professions and life experiences. The model embraces and continues the idea of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) as a model of contextual, lifelong resilience.